Change Me Now
by WaffleGirlIsAwesome432
Summary: It's crazy how one person's presence could change so much in multiple people's lives. Somehow, I got my family back. Somehow, I got my best friend back. I have three words for this person: "Change me now." Mortals: Percabeth: Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, guys. This is CHAPTER 1 REVISED!**

**_Please_ tell me your opinion, your constructive critism, and what's your favorite color, because I'm awesomely random like that.**

**As per usual, ENJOY!**

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**(Again, this is Chapter One: REVISED.)**

Monday isn't really a good day for me. It usually goes somewhere along the lines of tardiness, tripping and hitting my head against lockers, and dealing with Thalia's teasing for the rest of the day. The worst bit is usually the homework.

This Monday's morning began with me waking up Thalia (that was never fun) and a cold shower. "Hey, hey Nico!" I said around the toothpaste in my mouth. It still hit the mirror.

"Nico!"

His head popped through the door, black hair ruffled, and he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "What d'you want?"

"Do you know what the weather's like for today?"

"No," he snapped. "What do I look like? A weatherman?"

That probably shouldn't have hurt, considering he'd been cold to us for awhile now. It still did. "Oh...kay. Um, are you hungry? I could—"

"No."

Thalia came into my room wearing her favorite, faded and worn "Death to Barbie" tee and tattered jeans. As she tied up her hi-top Converse, she said, "We have new neighbors."

"Oh, that's right. The, uh...Chases, yeah. Came in yesterday evening, right?"

"Right. They've got a daughter our age and Sally volunteered us. She's going to hitch a ride." Thalia straightened and stole my toothpaste while grabbing her toothbrush.

I have a weird relationship with Mom. I don't hate her or anything, but it's kind of hard to talk to her. We haven't spent time together since I was thirteen when my birthday present was my Mom's new job and long hours.

"By the way, I'm taking my skateboard to school," my cousin mumbled past her toothpaste. "I haven't ridden it in ages. Nico's probably ditching again, so unless you can convince him otherwise, you're stuck with Chase. Grab my brush."

"Well, alright. If you're sure. Thanks," I grumbled. I bonked her in the head with her brush and she scowled at me in the mirror. Thals shares the same black hair as Nico and I, but has pale blue eyes that freak everyone out. I shivered.

"You know, Kelp Head, there's this popular thing called 'brushing your hair.' You should definitely try it sometime," she said with false enthusiasm, smiling innocently.

I frowned. "I did brush my hair."

She frowned back.

Nico then yelled from downstairs, "Some dumb blonde bimbo is standing here saying she's Annabeth Chase!"

"Gotta go—hey, what's the weather today?" I blurted, grabbing my backpack, keys, and shoes.

"Uh...Psh, um...I don't know. You could check the paper," she suggested slowly, "or your phone." Right. Phone. I felt real dumb right there.

I pulled on my favorite olive jacket to be safe and quickly went to greet the new Annabeth Chase. She wore a red flannel with a gray top, shorts and Converse. Well, she's not one of _those_ girls. Cool. The 'dumb blonde bimbo' was glaring at Nico, who scowled back moodily.

"Hi, uh...Annabeth Chase, right?" I said, closing the door behind me as I left. Wow, she's kind of cute.

She blinked up at me and I tried to suppress the urge to grin; I used to be pretty short. Annabeth then took a step back and seemed to be studying me with her stormy gray eyes, which made me straighten my shirt and run my fingers through my hair anxiously. "Yeah, that's right," she answered coolly. "Nice friend you have there."

My ears felt warm and I quickly told her, "Well, Nico's not that bad once you get to know him. Really, he's, uh...He's...I'm Percy Jackson, by the way." Maybe I could make a good impression on her and she'd forget about Nico's attitude.

Annabeth cocked her head to one side and nodded, but she clearly didn't believe me about Nico. I wouldn't either; it's kind of obvious about Nico.

"Right, so," I cleared my throat. "Yeah. Let's get going. Maybe I could show you around the school—if you want, I mean—since it's so early."

"How's the library?" she questioned softly.

"Uh...It's cool. I guess."

"You don't read much," she stated flatly.

Embarrassed, I told her, "Er, I want to—really, I do! Don't give me that look—but I'm dyslexic. It's frustrating. That's all."

"Oh, really? Cool," she replied, flashing me a smile. A really nice smile, too. "So am I, but I found some ways to get around it a couple years back. One is..."

As we drove to the school in my car, we talked about things we could do about our dyslexia. Annabeth promised to help me with it ("I mean, if you'd like. I don't want to push you or anything and maybe your cousins would like to—stop laughing, Percy!") so that was pretty cool, too.

I showed Annabeth around the school and found we had a number of classes together. Annabeth tugged out her hair elastic and her curly hair fell onto and past her shoulders with a slight bounce.

Gosh, smart _and _beautiful.

Annabeth stared back like she was surprised and I blushed hard when I realized I had said that out loud. Then, she did something _fantastic_. The blonde girl chuckled and smiled at me—a little, close-lipped smile. I felt myself beam back.

"Thanks," she murmured, turning back around

"Yeah," I said awkwardly, clearing my throat. "Yeah, you're welcome, Annabeth."

The bell rang and I was suddenly ten times happier that we had the same homeroom.

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**Please take note on the subtle/not-so-subtle changes in these characters' personalities and let me know if you like how I changed the characters or if you didn't like it. Flames will be dutifully considered and also be used to keep me warm on this chilly day.**

**I expect a paragraph's worth from each of you! *scrutinizes***

**(Not So) Sincerely,**

**WaffleGirl**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okee dokee, folks! Chapter 2: Revised has arrived and I'd like to reassure you that the chapters _will _gradually become lengthier. At this point of time, I'm not feeling all that confident about the ideas bouncing around in my head. ANY suggestions that you have are welcome!**

**yupitsthalia: Thanks. I was pretty unconfident about the previous Percy, but another reviewer (Music-Mystery Lover) has pointed out what she likes about the "Previous Percy", which I'm also taking into consideration. Maybe I could, pfft, I don't know...combine both? I'll work on that.**

**Pokemonchen: What I meant by that was...y'know, it's sort of like talking with food in your mouth; you accidentally spit food left and right. In this case, it got on the mirror. Does that clear it up? Also, thank you for bring this to my attention. Okay, so...We, as humans, are naturally attracted-or maybe a better word is intrigued-by attractive people. This is how Percy is with Annabeth right at this moment. So, he doesn't like her-I agree; way too soon for that-but he's attracted by her beauty. He's going to shrug it off and then slowly begin to like her. Does that sound better or would you like to add any suggestions? All suggestions welcome and thanks for yours.**

**Music-Mystery Lover: Cool. Thanks for your thoughts and thanks for bringing this to my attention. I was unconfident about the previous Percy, because I wasn't sure if I was maintaining a balance or if I was crossing a line I didn't see. This helps a lot, though, and I've come up with something just for you. I'll introduce it throughout the first part of the story.**

**The Percabeth Stories _(from chapter 22)_: Dude, that is flippin' _awesome_ what you did right there! Haha I love it! This chapter's dedicated to you! Oh, also, about your other review, it's not grammar I'm that worried about (I still am, just not as much about other things). I'm more worried about the emotions and the characters' personalities and history and little plotholes that are annoying me SO much...and possibly more humor haha**

**DevilBringer _(from chapter 22)_: Congrats; you got me thinking and inspired me to revise this story, with not just humor and surface things going on, y'know? If you read the last sentence of the review-response above, you'll see why I'd like to revise this entire thingamajigger.**

**thelostrelic: I was planning on doing that; just waiting to see your opinions and such. Thanks for letting me know, though. I'm glad you caught that.**

**AtlantaJackson95: In what ways? I really _do _want to fix whatever your telling me about. Do you mean concerning Percy and Annabeth? Character development? The chapters in general? If you tell me what in particular, I'll do my best to fix or explain it to you. People were actually kind of complaining about the Nico and the sink incident O.o darn. I liked that too! Thanks, as well!**

**XxXMidnightxMoonlightXxX: Did I do your username right? Hm. Thanks for that! Nicky is purty darn hilarious sometimes. I think everyone on here are weirdos. Also, it's most likly different for other peeps, but I'm always nice to cute guys, and then I'll get annoyed with myself later and be really rude to them the next day. Same goes for Annabeth in this story. Percy's got a bit of a crush on her right now haha aaaand...wow. You sure do sound hyper O.O**

**devil bringer: Definitely more fun, but people have complained about how unrealistic it is so I'm trying to please those readers. *shrug***

**ENJOY!**

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Our homeroom teacher wasn't there when Annabeth and I entered the classroom.

"Maybe we should wait outside," Annabeth sighed, eyebrows furrowed as she glanced around. "What does Mrs. Fuller look like?"

"Uh, middle aged woman, graying brown hair...kind of short...and definitely MIA. Let's go inside."

"Percy!" Annabeth scolded, but she followed me anyway.

"Let's write on the board," I said, grinning. I love writing on whiteboards. I grabbed a blue marker, my favorite color, and before Annabeth could snatch it away, wrote _A wise man once told me to act before I think. That man is Steve Jobs and will make a billionaire out of my own stupidity._

I thought that was pretty good, but Annabeth snorted, rolling her eyes. With a scoff, she took the marker, erased what I wrote, and replaced it with _I, Percy Jackson, bow before Annabeth Chase's greatness in pure awe. Blondes are not typically dumb and many aren't actually bimbos. This message was approved by Annabeth Chase™._

I whined about it until she erased it, needless to say. I didn't tell her that it was ten times better than mine.

"Someday, you'll come to realize the truth," she teased, laughing. I pouted at her and she ruffled my hair.

"Hey!" I yelped. Just then, Mrs. Fuller entered and walked right past us, greeting us with a monotone voice. I felt tired already. "Oh, uh...Morning...Mrs. Fuller."

Annabeth was much more polite, with a light "Good morning, Mrs. Fuller; I'm a new student here, Annabeth Chase. It's nice to meet you."

Suck up...

As though hearing my thoughts, she scowled at me for a split second, before smiling at our homeroom teacher. I realized I had spoken aloud again and frowned, plopping down into my seat.

Mrs. Fuller grumbled something along the lines of "teenagers...*grumble, grumble*...worthless...*huff*...disrespectable...*glare*...suck ups..." which made me laugh. It didn't come out like the manly, charming chuckle I had imagined in my head, though. It was a girly little giggle, which I'm pretty sure not even girls usually do.

Annabeth burst into a fit of laughter and poked my side; I giggled again, squirming. "Oh my God," she chortled. "Percy, you're hilarious!"

"Stop," I mumbled, ears hot. This is so embarrassing! In front of a cute girl, too!

She poked me again and laughed even harder.

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That class was so boring!" Thalia complained, dragging out on the 'o' in so. She continued to go on about some cute guy sitting next to her who turned out to be an "immature, flippin' retarded little punk that I just wanna go and kick the living sh—WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT, FREAK! Anyway, like I was saying, Kelp Head..." I took the opportunity to throw crumpled up pieces of paper into the hood of her jacket.

"...By the way, I forgot to bring money. Wanna buy my lunch?" she asked, smiling 'innocently'. Her smile actually implied that my body would never be found if I didn't agree with her. "I'll...be your best friend and love you forever?"

"Oh, wow, what a bargain," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "How could I _ever _refuse _that_ offer?" She smacked me upside the head.

"What's your deal?" I grumbled. "What crawled up your..."

"Hey!" Annabeth came right in front of us, effectively blocking our way, and looked at us expectantly. We stared back blankly.

She sighed. "Oh, don't worry about me, guys! It's not like I just moved here yesterday and don't know where the cafeteria is or anything. Nope! No way." Oops.

I flashed a grin and nudged my shoulder against hers. "It, uh...was a...was a test, Anna! Yes, test, indeed!"

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, it was a test, Chase," Thalia joined in enthusiastically, patting Annabeth's head. "We, um...Yep! So, uh...Yeah, test! Fantastic how you found us so quickly!"

"Good job! I'm sorry we ever doubted you! Congrats!" I leaned in and whispered, "Really, though, we're sorry." The Goth of a cousin I had shrugged helplessly, apologetic.

With an annoyed expression, she glared after some random kid who had knocked into her roughly, before turning back around. "Look," she began with a flat tone, "let's make this clear before we go on, alright? I don't like being called Anna. You don't call me Anna and I won't blackmail you into doing whatever I want. Got it?"

Yikes. Thals and I exchanged a quick look and I could tell we both agreed on one thing; Annabeth needs a chill pill.

I raised a hand. She crossed her arms and waited. "Can I call you Annie?"

"No."

Thalia raised a hand. Annabeth huffed and gestured to her impatiently. "Can _I _call you Annie?"

"Yes. Now let's go; I'm hungry."

"Hey!" I protested. "That's not fair."

Thalia sighed. "Percy, this is an unfathomable, infinitely intricate procedure of feminine communications involving additional feminine persons. This considerably delicate process revolving around complex vocabulary and equally complex methods reveals that, unambiguously, the entire female population solitarily comprehends those same complex vocabulary and methods. The masculine population's intellect could not even _hope _to grasp what the feminine population can—at the very least, in this prospect, of course."

...

What just happened?

"Wait, what?" I said slowly.

"You have only further proven this scientific evidence." She walked away, catching up with Annabeth, and they started laughing. Psh, girls...What she said didn't even make sense...Girls are so weird.

I followed from behind, trying to translate what the heck Thalia had said, but it really just...did _not _make sense. I bought the girls' lunches, to Annabeth and Thalia's irk and pleasure, respectively. As we sat down with my—well, actually, mine and Thalia's—friends, Grover chucked his spoon at me. I chucked it back and laughed. All the girls just looked at us with an exasperated face.

"What?" we asked, mouths full with food.

"I'd like to direct your attention over here for just a moment, everyone. As you can see with Exhibit A, this is what happens when you don't use more than five percent of your brain's capacity. Now, if you look to your left..." Annabeth drawled, gesturing and pretending to hand out pamphlets. The 'feminine population,' as Thalia would say, all laughed and started chatting.

My raccoon-faced cousin smirked triumphantly at me. Butthead...

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**This chapter is dedicated to The Percabeth Stories, who-for chapter 22 on 11/18/12-wrote a rather creative and flippin' awesome review:**

_**"You know what I love more than waffles... Girls. I think they're awesome! 432."**_

**Not bad, not bad! If you would like to get a chapter dedicated to you, all you have to do is share something you find funny or creative OR flippin' awesome (-Recommended) and I will put your name at the bottom of the following chapters.**

**With (No) Love,**

**WaffleGirl**

**P.S.: Song of my day? Tequila! LOVE this song.**


	3. Chapter 3

**So let me just say right here, right now that I am open to any and all suggestions; even if you're kidding around, I promise to tke it all into consideration. Maybe it's because I'm awesome like that. *shrug and smirk* You tell me.**

**The Percabeth Stories: CHRISTMAS! Whoo! Yeah, Christmas was pretty awesome for me, too. I have to say, I really did like your revew haha**

**Percabeth02 _(first chapter)_: You know what? ...I WILL keep writing! I'm not really one for pink, personally, but baby blue isn't too bad. Whoa there, peep, calm down. O.O You just let out a bunch of personal information. *shakes finger* Nay, nay, pal. That's nay, nay. No bueno. Btw, I don't have an instagram *shrug* Well peace back to you!**

**Percabeth02 _(second chapter_): Yes we are! Thank you for acknowledging that! Really? Beef isn't too bad; it's actually good for you, but obviously you can't have it everyday or...**

**ENJOY MY SLAVES-er...SUBJE-I mean...um, readers?**

**Pfft, what the heck...JUST ENJOY!**

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"Hey, Kelp Head! Introduce everyone to Chase," Thalia demanded, punching my shoulder.

Annabeth looked away from her staring contest with Nico and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well, Anna, this—"

"Don't call me that, you little—"

"This here is Raccoon Eyes, otherwise dubbed affectionately by me, Pinecone Face." I gestured grandly over to Thalia.

"That was one time!" she screeched. "How was I supposed to know it would fall on me?"

"That right over there is Nicole. She's a bit shy, but once you get her talking, you'll pour bleach on your ears to forget that horrifying giggle." Nico flipped me off and hunched over sulkily.

"Nicole," Annabeth repeated, amused.

"To my right you'll find the _infamous _Enchilada Goat, who eats pretty much whatever as long as it's vegetarian and runs like a leopard for his enchiladas; that's why we put him on the track team and stand with enchiladas at the finish line. I like to call him G-man, because that's Justice League material right there." Grover spit out his tin can and waved happily at Annabeth.

"Do you have a costume?" the blonde joked.

"Across from him, you'll find the future botanist—as well as future Mrs. Enchilada Goat—our very own Green Thumb Girl!" Juniper cast a mortified glance at a blubbering Grover and then me, but smiled and shook Annabeth's hand.

"And I," I continued proudly, "am the sexy one of a kind Kelp Head, courtesy of Pinecone Face."

"Sexy?" Annabeth snickered.

I struck a pose. "Well I am!"

Thalia elbowed me hard and told her, "Actually, I'm Thalia, that's Nico, Grover and Juniper. But this thing here really does have kelp in its head."

Grover squinted, peering into my ear. "I think I see a little."

"Back off, G-man!"

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After school, I introduced Beckendorf to Annabeth.

"Hey Beckendorf, what's up? This is Annabeth." I gestured to Annabeth, who eyed him analytically like she did with me.

Beckendorf grinned down at her (he's...taller than me. Only by a little, though! It's only three inches! Well, maybe, like...five...) and his pearly white teeth contrasted greatly against his dark skin. "'S'up, Annabeth. Feel free to call me Beck—Perce always does."

He punched me playfully and I grinned back, resisting the urge to massage my shoulder and grimace. He's kind of ripped.

She smiled back, but crossed her arms, looking around awkwardly.

"Annabeth, we're going to the beach, if you want to come. The beach is actually pretty close by, so...We usually do this at least twice a month, yeah?" Thalia nodded, confirming this, but Annabeth looked unsure. "There'll be hot guys, I promise! Like me; I'll be the hottest guy there!" Annabeth laughed and nodded, pretending to be really enthusiastic. Thalia rolled her eyes at me.

"Who's got shotgun?" I shouted. Beckendorf raised his dark hand halfway in a lazy gesture and hopped in. I laughed and opened the door for the girls. "No prob', Beck, go ahead and let yourself in. No big deal."

"My bad, man."

I started up the car and, bam, we were off. Annabeth leaned forward in her seat and rested her head near my shoulder.

"You have towels, then, right? I mean, this _is _the beach." I smiled at her and glanced over.

"Yeah, we're cool. Chill, Annabeth, I'm not _that _stupid. Thals, could you grab the towels under Beck's seat?"

I heard a muffled "I'm on it" and told Annabeth, "I also have some Cokes (the drink, I mean; relax, Annabeth) in the trunk, in a cooler. Put 'em there this morning before you came and—"

"Keep your eyes on the road!"

I laughed, but obeyed her orders. With a huff, Annabeth poked my neck and sat back, complaining about irresponsible teenagers under her breath.

"Nobody here minds Vampire Weekend, right?" Beck asked. When no objections came, he put it on and rolled down the window.

"What are you, a dog?" Thals exclaimed. True enough, Beckendorf had his head sticking out of the window. Is he tongue out? What the heck?

"Dang, I forgot how comfortable these seats were, Percy. No wonder I always went along with this," the muscular guy sighed.

"Wow, aren't I glad to have a friend like you," I snorted. "I've always heard the best kinds are the ones who would choose your car over you in a heartbeat." Thals and Annabeth laughed while Beckendorf waved me off.

"Hey, yo, hold on. First of all, I am your long lost brother!"

"Brother from another mother?"

He looked at me like I was crazy. "No, dude, that's lame. Anyway, second! Guys always ditch each other for their cars! And third of all...I don't even think we're brothers. Now, why would I be brothers with a white guy?" Now they were chuckling away.

"Oh, hate to pop your bubble, Perce, but you just got served!"

"That was just sad," Annabeth agreed.

I smirked. "Alright, I'll give it to you; that broke my heart a little. That was kind of cold. Unfortunately for you, Beck, I've still got another trick up my sleeve. Since when did you get so racist, Blackie-Chan?" We were all laughing now. It's great just to hang out with my friends.

"Whoa, it's really pretty here." Annabeth exclaimed as I parked. I agreed and went to get the Cokes out of the trunk. Beckendorf and Thalia came out, still snickering. As those two began whispering about something like a pair of gossiping old women, my new blonde friend led the way out onto the beach, quickly removing her shoes. I followed her and bumped my shoulder against hers.

"What are you thinking about, Wise Girl?"

She shot back, "Seaweed Brain." Okay, so hers was ten times better, I'll admit.

"Touché, Ms. Chase," I said with my best British accent, bowing. She rolled her eyes. People do that a lot around me.

"Just...y'know. I didn't really expect to make friends with anyone here. At least, not so quickly." She stared off towards the water and I wondered if she was thinking of her old school.

"Oh. Well, uh, wanna...talk about it?" That's what I'm supposed to do, right? Comfort a girl?

"No."

I blinked.

After a couple moments, she smiled and announced, "Race you to the water!"

With a grin, I ran after her, laughing.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Ch-ch-ch-chaptah four! How's it going, guys? I've noticed that I should first and foremost work on character development; don't worry, I understand that, but I've got news here: I'm not really all that much of an emotional person, despite popular belief about girls being mainly emotional. I don't like feeling strong emotions because they make me feel vulnerable. Now that we got that out of the way, I'd REALLY appreciate any and all advice from you guys on the subject of making characters easier to sympathize with and more interesting.**_

**Tobystalker: I believe a friend of mine calls it 'rainbolicious' or however the person spelled it. I was too amazed to bother asking haha**

**da _(or the?)_ banana peeler: Whoa there. Okay, valid accusation, but this isn't a continuation of the books (clearly) and let's pretend that this is your regular book that you pick up at the local bookstore and start reading. I'm not going to give away the entire plot and characters' pasts right here and now, y'know? As for describing thoughts and emotions, as well as environments, I'll work on that, and I'd like for you to take a glance at the first paragraph, above the one that's above this. It's not too hard to spot, since I purposely itialized it the entire thing. Thanks for your suggestions!**

**Percabeth02: Guess what? I UPDATED! Pretty cool, right? For some unknown reason, you guys keep me motivated, unlike the unrevised version. I think it's because you peeps give me advice now *shrug* O.O didn't you just say your name was Lydia in your earlier comment? I hope it's not your real name, and if it is, please deny this anyhow. I don't have an ipod touch. I would have to pay for it and that's no fun haha**

**The Percabeth Stories: Oh yes, very awesome indeed. You got a new phone? O.o So did I! *virtual high five* Yeah, how do you like the new Percy? Any suggestions?**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

"No, I don't think there's a...a Wahoo's here, whatever that is. What's an In-n-Out?"

Annabeth gaped at me, appalled. "You don't have In-n-Out here in New York?" She groaned. "I'm going to commit suicide without In-n-Out!"

"It sounds like a stripper club."

Annabeth shot me an offended glare. "What are you implying?"

I'm in trouble.

"No, I-I didn't mean it like—but you _are_ really pretty—not to say I'm interested or—no, I don't mean that! I just—I thought—no, Annabeth! I was _teasing—_"

I hate it when things like that come out of my mouth. It makes it seem like I'm lying—which I'm not! Annabeth still looked deeply offended and I figured what I had said was about as charming as Nico's "dumb blonde bimbo" comment.

I'm not used to apologizing. In a house with two teenagers as well as _being _a teenager, communication skills don't get used much. If we got mad each other, we'd either continue being mad, or act like it never happened. "Look, Wise Girl: I'm sorry. I just—you have to admit it sounds inappropriate."

Annabeth wrinkled her nose a little, so I knew she understood. "It's a burger place, Seaweed Brain. Fast food."

"Oh. Well, that makes sense. You can quickly get in and get the food and get out...Yeah, that actually makes more sense. Way more appropriate."

"Ugh, you Seaweed Brain. Let's just go; my parents are going to kill me for not babysitting my step-brothers. They probably torched the place."

Thalia threw her arm around Annabeth. "We're already rubbing off on you; rebels and all that jazz. I like you, Chase. We'll make a teenager out of you, rest assured."

Flicking her blonde hair out of her eyes, she retorted, "What am I, then? An old lady?"

"I was going to say workaholic-woman-in-her-thirties, but that works, too." Thalia hid behind me to dodge Annabeth's towel, while Beck and I laughed.

I guess humor runs through the family. As I performed an absolutely _flawless_ high-five with Thalia, I wondered how funny Nico would be if he just pulled his head out of his—

"Perce, can you throw this away?" Beckendorf yawned, throwing his empty Coke can at me.

"Why? The trash about five centimeters from your face," I snorted.

He turned around and flinched away. "Whoa! So that's why it smelled so bad..."

"Stupid," Thalia muttered. Annabeth simply turned away, but I saw her roll her eyes as she did. I smiled.

When we got back to the car, Annabeth cried, "I call shotgun."

Beck looked kind of pissed; he hates getting all crunched up in the back. "Only if you scoot the seat up!"

So we piled in, despite Beck trying his best to distract Annabeth while he slipped in the front.

"More, Chase."

She moved the seat.

"_More_."

She moved the seat a little more, slowly.

"Percy, can I dri—"

"NO!" I just got the car a couple months ago! It's my _baby!_

Thalia blinked at me, leaning forward in her seat. "God, _chill_, Percy. It's a short drive." It's not like I'm whining. I'm just attached to this car.

"But I just got my car in August." Okay, so I was whining a little.

"But it's just a _car!_"

Beck and I gasped. "_Just a car?_ What?"

"Tough luck, Becky," my blonde friend snickered. He kicked the seat like a child.

Everyone, excluding Annabeth, was silent for the next couple of minutes. Annabeth may as well have been driving, because she told me to be careful with my left turn, keep an eye out for stupid people (which was nearly everyone) and demanded I drive _at least _ten miles under the speed limit. People were pretty pissed at me, honking left and right, but Annabeth just grumbled under her breath.

"Stupid drivers...going to get us in an accident...Percy, keep an eye on that car right there. Yeah, that o—no, not the blue one. Yeah, the red one. The old one, yeah. Those little..."

I was about ready to pull over and shove her into the driving seat, and see how she'd like me giving her directions, advice, and headaches, when I heard a whisper and some giggling. Annabeth was making the weirdest face while facing forward, like she thought she may as well be at an asylum.

"Who's giggling back there? Is that you, Beck?" I could just imagine it! Beck, a toweringly tall, ripped guy who looked about to rob a bank, could be giggling like a schoolgirl.

"No, man, that was Thalia. She called you two—"

"Shut up," Thalia laughed.

"She called you two Mr. and Mrs. Jackson."

Great. Annabeth is going to be furious. We all simultaneously looked at her. She did look kind of irritated.

Maybe I was sucking up a little to Annabeth this way, but I couldn't stop myself from saying, "We only just met. Besides, Annabeth doesn't seem like someone looking for a relationship." Oh crap. I think I accidentally implied something again.

There was a tense little moment where I just _knew_ all of us were thinking, "Percy, you're so _stupid_." As expected, the girl bristled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No! Annabeth, I didn't—"

"Then what _did _you mean?" she huffed. Oh, fantastic. It's enough having an annoyed Annabeth. Now, I have a glaring Annabeth.

"You just seem kind of uptight and—"

"Rewind!" Thalia advised.

"Er, that is to say, you seem really focused on your studies."

"Well...passable," Beck whispered. Thalia nodded, mumbling agreement. Annabeth and I shushed them.

The gray eyed girl raised an eyebrow at me.

"I mean, you only just came; you hardly even know us or anyone at school and I'm just trying to tell them—will you stop glaring at me! Look, I'm _sorry!_ I'm not good with words, alright? Not everyone has your vocabulary."

Silence rang out louder than anything else could have at that moment, and Annabeth gave a feather-light touch to my elbow with her own. When I looked at her, only too aware of the other two pairs of eyes on us, her gray eyes were piercing. Not angry or cold or set in a glare. They were simply intense.

It took me a second to realize she was reluctant to speak, and it took me a second more to understand what she was trying to tell me: she wasn't all that great with words, either. I guess it's a real common thing for teenagers to be unable to communicate properly.

I nudged back and she nodded, settling back into her seat.

After dropping Beck off at his garage (he was eager to get some work done on something), we drove home in a sort of daze.

"Hey, nice meeting you guys," Annabeth told us as she gathered her things. "Thanks for bringing me to the beach with you three. And...Percy?"

"Uh?"

"Don't 'uh' me. Do your homework."

Pfft. I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Mother."

"I'm not your mother; my son would have discovered a new element by age five. Your parents must be horrified by you."

Thalia guffawed while I gaped like a fish.

"You really are a Kelp Head," my cousin chuckled.

* * *

**If I promised to give you a smore and some hot chocolate, would you review? Probably not..**

**Any and all suggestions, thoughts, comments, concerns are welcome! Seriously! Flames too, because I'll use them for virtual marshmellows to put in smores. Nothing pleases me more than being able to improve my writing, because I KNOW I've got a great amount to improve on. Something on your mind? Review about it!**

**-Waffle Girl**


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